Report: Pontypridd 12-24 Bristol Rugby

David Lemi (2) and Luke Baldwin crossed at Sardis Road in an ill-disciplined affair that saw seven yellow cards and a red card brandished by referee Nigel Correll.

Pontypridd came out of the traps quickly and should have gone in front, only for Simon Humberstone to skew a penalty goal opportunity wide of the upright.

The fly half missed the target with a second attempt soon after, before Bristol broke the deadlock with the opening try of the afternoon.

Luke Baldwin showed brute strength to bounce off several tackles and slide over the whitewash, while Adrian Jarvis added the simple extras.

And Bristol doubled their advantage midway through the first period as David Lemi burst clear from ten metres to go in under the posts for a converted score.

Moments later, Seb Davies was yellow carded for Pontypridd for persistent infringement. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Simon Humberstone reduced arrears with a well-struck penalty goal during a rare foray into opposition territory.

But both Chris Clayton and Craig Locke were sin-binned in a frenetic five minutes, leaving the home side with just twelve men.

Bristol seized the initiative as David Lemi cantered over for his second try, which Jarvis superbly converted to push his side 3-21 ahead.

After Max Crumpton was sin-binned – the fourth yellow card dished out by referee Nigel Correll during a scrappy first period – Simon Humberstone landed a successful three pointer.

The second half continued in similar fashion as Ian Evans was yellow carded, before Craig Locke’s close-range effort, converted by Humberstone, gave Pontypridd a route back into the game.

Seb Davies received his second yellow – and subsequently a red card – as the poor-discipline continued in the driving rain at Sardis Road.

Tom Williams was the next Pontypridd player to be yellow carded, while Adrian Jarvis nudged Bristol into a 13-24 lead with less than ten minutes remaining to seal the gritty win.

Pontypridd:

Aled Summerhill; Chris Clayton, Gavin Dacey, Dafydd Lockyer (c), Matthew Nuthall; Simon Humberstone, Tom Williams; James Howe, Liam Belcher, Keiron Jenkins, Craig Locke, Seb Davies, Luke Crocker, Wayne O'Connor, Rhys Shellard.

Replacements: Lloyd Williams (for Chris Clayton, 72 mins), Lewis K Williams, Garyn Smith (for Gavin Dacey, 67 mins), Aled Morris, Jordan Sieniawski (for Luke Crocker, 76 mins), Dillon Lewis (for James Howe, 59 mins), Chris Phillips (for Keiron Jenkins, 59 mins).

Bristol Rugby:

Darren Hudson; Ryan Edwards, Gareth Maule, Mark Cooke, David Lemi; Adrian Jarvis, Luke Baldwin; Jack O'Connell, Max Crumpton, Anthony Perenise, Ian Evans, Mark Sorenson (c), Nick Koster, Jack Lam, Mitch Eadie.

Replacements: Chris Brooker (for Max Crumpton, 40 mins), Gaston Cortes (for Jack O’Connell, 77 mins), Glen Townson (for Ian Evans, 60 mins), Marco Mama (for Nick Koster, 62 mins), Craig Hampson (for Luke Baldwin, 62 mins), Luke Eves (for Mark Cooke, 55 mins), Auguy Slowik (for Darren Hudson, 62 mins).

Referee:  Nigel Correll